Her Eyes
by korbi.falardeau
Summary: The deaths of others were practically meaningless to the Dark Lord, other than as a means to his ends. He killed witches and wizards who opposed him or acted neutrally, who supported muggles or muggle borns. He outright slaughtered muggles when he could, yet not until he discovered the inferi did he find a truly worthwhile purpose to death. Snape central


**Her Eyes**

**Standard disclaimers apply**

There were many unpleasant tasks assigned to Severus as the Dark Lord's most trusted servant. Severus had attained that title years ago, as he departed the secret that sealed Lily's fate. The Dark Lord had fallen and risen in that time, and Severus found himself, once again, bound by his word and honor, serving two masters, as it were. The Dark Lord suspected nothing, and Severus gave him no reason to think otherwise. It was critical that he never grow wary of Severus, and thus he performed every gruesome order without hesitation or question.

Severus was one of the few who knew of the Dark Lord's horcruxes, though it was not the Dark Lord who had imparted that secret on him. How easy it would be to simply take the talisman instead of defend it, but Severus could not risk his own exposure. He wouldn't. His duty to Dumbledore and to the boy was more important than foiling a single horcrux. And so Severus climbed and crawled through the craggy sea vistas, his lips pulled into a scowl as cold ocean lapped at his feet and wet the hem of his cloak.

The Dark Lord himself would seal the cove once Severus had finished his part of the protection; the planting of the inferi into the icy depths. He had no taste for inferi, but he knew they were effective body guards, and there were no shortage of corpses to choose from of the Dark Lord's victims.

The Dark Lord had already marked the corpses to animate, and all that was left was for Severus to say the incantations, spill the blood, and direct the writhing masses. He did not look forward to it, but he drew his wand across his Mark anyway, letting the blood run freely into the water. It swirled and dissipated as Severus muttered the incantations, his hollow voice echoing around the stone chamber.

He heard them before he saw them, and his stomach rolled at the horror of the scene. Each corpse was nearly indistinguishable from the next; pale, rotted flesh hung off bones, hair was gone save for a few colorless whiffs, and the roved over the ground towards the sea with the same unintelligible shamble. Severus lip curled as he directed the cacophony into the water.

There were dozens of corpses but, slowly, the stream slowed and only stragglers were left. One by one, he placed them into the water. He was eager to leave, to return to his rooms at Hogwarts, to make this experience but one more bad memory. He turned, pulling his cloak around himself as he stalked towards the opening of the cave, ready to apparate out of here and report to the Dark Lord that the inferi had been placed and simply awaited his further orders.

That was when he saw it.

The inferi looked no different from any of the others; perhaps smaller than some. The most distinguishing feature, of course, was the fact that it was huddled into a crevice near the mouth of the cave, back turned to Severus, as it curled over its own bony frame. It shivered as though cold or scared, but that was ridiculous. Inferi did not have feelings. Still, Severus had never seen one behave in this way, and he raised his wand cautiously. Perhaps it was rogue.

The same commanding incantation left his mouth, and he pointed his wand towards the water. The inferius did not move. Severus did not repeat himself. He had said the spell correctly, so clearly there was something else at work. With a quick glance at the opening, Severus took a step towards the inferius. He couldn't leave it here.

What peculiar behavior. His lips were twisted tightly downwards as he evaluated his options. He could simply drag the damn thing out of the crevice and toss it into the water. That seemed like the least appealing option, behind leaving it there and facing the Dark Lord's wrath for a job incomplete. There was the imperius. Did that work on the dead?

Severus raised his wand. He'd find out.

"Imperio."

The corpse stopped shaking instantly, and Severus found it was all too simple to control the body. It was easier than it was with a human, likely because there was little to no mind to fight against his wishes. He turned the inferius around, backing up to give it room to march to the sea, to join its dead brothers and sisters.

As it turned, Severus' heart flipped.

In many ways, it was identical to the other imperius. Sallow skin sagged against bone but, as he looked, he could make out subtle shapes to the skeleton. A nipped waist, a flare in the hips. A woman. A young woman. He took a step back, feeling bile raise in his throat as he saw the wisps of maroon hair clinging to the barren skull. Severus felt faint, too horrified to process any emotion as he looked over the corpse. And then … the eyes.

The eyes.

Brighter than anything he'd ever seen, and a dazzling emerald, even in death. How? None of the other eyes sparkled like this, but its … hers did. Hers did.

Lily.


End file.
